Cloud-based solutions are transforming the contact center industry, and Australia is no different. In fact, the contact center market in Australia is expected to experience a major transformation as cloud based solutions and mobile devices change the way organizations provide customer service. Cloud based contact center solutions are expected to gain momentum in the next three to five years.

This is according to new research from analyst group Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) and its newest report, “Australian Contact Centre Market 2012,” which found that a combination of changing business models and impact of enabling factors such as the NBN will make cloud based deployments the preferred model for new contact center deployments in Australia. As demand grows over the 2013 to 2014 timeframe, several new players, including global vendors, will enter the market.

For this reason, says Frost & Sullivan in an announcement of the new report, growth and revenue of traditional on-premise models will decline as most organizations facing a contract renewal or new deployment will be reluctant to commit to long contract terms in a rapidly changing technology landscape. Although the on-premise model is the predominant deployment model for contact center applications in Australia, the market is in the early stages of a transformation toward third party managed solutions.

Behind the shift is customers’ preference for hosted and cloud based solutions, which is leading traditional contact center vendors to look to supplement their on-premise solutions with cloud based versions. A number of vendors have already announced plans to introduce cloud based versions of their contact center solutions by 2013. Another advantage of cloud based contact centers is the built-in resiliency capabilities through business continuity plans (BCP) and disaster recovery (DR) features. Australia’s floods and bushfires of 2011 made organizations acutely aware of risks of a major disruption to their contact centers and the need for a BCP and DR plan to ensure a business stays operational in the event of a major disruption.